Best fight of the year so far! This fight I felt could've gone either way, both hurt each other and both boxed really well. You predicted it spot on how it would go by Stevenson dominating early and Jack coming on strong in the later rounds. What did you think?

I agree.
Oh for sure, half the rounds were up for dispute I thought, Jack won the dominant rounds, but they both won basically the same amount of clearer rounds, who you lean towards is subjective, you sort of wanted Jack to win, he just had that demena of the winner, but no, for sure, a draw is a fair result, and had either one got the decision, couldn't have complained.

Well yeah basically, but there were certain things I didn't take into consideration, I said either Stevenson in 4 or less, or Jack in 8-10, neither happened, so I was wrong, but yeah I got in right in part.

Early in the fight, Jack was doing everything right, he was moving, his defensive guard, absolutely fantastic, so fundamentally sound, he landed 2-3 clean shots in round 2, but for the first couple of rounds, it was matter of making Stevenson miss, keeping him working, drain the limbs, Stevenson hit the guard a real lot, and he was feeling the pace as early as 3, I think he clearly won rounds 5 and 6, he overpowered Jack, but even though Stevenson won those rounds, that was good for Jack, because Stevenson threw a lot of shots, moved his feet quite a bit, it took a lot out of him, and to be honest, I think after 6 rounds, Stevenson blew a gasket, he was absolutely exhausted, and Jack, for 9 minutes, was absolutely flying, he was on the cusp of stopping Stevenson, giving him a beating, but no matter how fit you are, if you throw that many KO punches, devote all your fitness into those shots, it takes it out of you, because Jack's stamina is great, he didn't slow down until 10, and Stevenson, though exhausted, hit Jack so hard with one left to the body, changed the fight, couldn't sustain his dominance, and by the end of round 11, Jack was back on top, and after 12, Stevenson was struggling to stand.

I think Stevenson is very, very dangerous, I think had that body shot landed 7 rounds earlier, Jack would have been battered into retirement, good thing he had the tactical discipline to do the right things, make Stevenson work hard early, expend a lot of energy, so when he took risks, got caught, he got caught by an exhausted Stevenson who'd taken a beating and been defeated by the pace, but you see the snap and the weight on the shots even when he was spent, forcing everything out of himself, Stevenson, think how dangerous he would have been had Jack given him any early openings. I think if Jack was a big puncher, Stevenson would have been stopped, Stevenson being too tired to stop Jack, Jack not being naturally heavy handed enough to stop Stevenson, sort of gave us a better fight, meant we got to see the full 12.

There were a lot that I felt could've gone either way. In the first half Stevenson was more dominant and was more active then Jack. Then after round 7 the momentum changed over to Jack and Stevenson was the one who was less active. Even though I feel a draw was fair, I feel for Jack in every big fight he gets a draw.

Technically you were right by how and when you say they dominate.

After 6, it looked as if Stevenson was gassed out, his punch output really went down from there. I thought that Jack could've done more in the early rounds to seal it. In those later rounds, Jack looked like hhe could've stopped Stevenson. I think it was round 10 where Stevenson had his best round of the second half where he hurt Jack, and couldn't finish him. It looked bad for him in the 12th, he was just clinching in the last seconds.

I agree on that. If Jack was giving Stevenson more oppurtunities then it would've been a different fight, same as if Jack had more power at the weight he coul've stopped Stevenson. I liked that we got to see it go the distance.

Maybe very slightly, but he I think he was doing better than he seemed to be doing, the idea and that part of the game plan should have been to keep Stevenson busy, try to tire him out as much as possible without walking into a shot.

Well the thing was I think, Stevenson was as tired as after 6, it wasn't that he found a second wind, it was that Jack had expended so much in 7-9, that he was tiring, and when they stood in close, Jack being tired as well made Stevenson's fatuiged matter less at that point, and Stevenson, even when tired, can land one, he used his brain, experience, landed quite a hard shot Jack wasn't prepared for, and it clearly hurt him, but if you look, you notice that Jack, being the younger fighter and the much, much better long distance fighter, was able to recover during the minute, from tne body shot but also just general fatuige, but Stevenson, even in round 11, when he tried to put Jack away, he dragged the shots out of himself, he didn't land with more than 2 at a time, he did well to produce that, and his shots were thudding, but not really powerful punches, and by the last minute of the 11th, Jack was on top again, he couldn't recover to the point where he could get his 7-9 dominance back, but he could still rally a bit, take over at the end, Stevenson couldn't. I think if Stevenson had landed that body shot in the early rounds, could have been it for Jack, so you see why he was so cautious for 4 rounds.

Jack, I think out of the two of them, Stevenson took much more damage, that's the strongest factor for picking a winner I would say, you?

Well for a start, it is good that Fury is fighting someone!
I do not think Sefer Seferi is good at world level, but, this is Fury's first fight back, it could be worse, I think Rudenko would have been better, but it is certainly better than Zumbano Love, and he isn't fighting a 38 year old with a poor record, Seferi has only the one loss, big puncher, 31, not old at all for a heavyweight, he has had plenty of fights as well, then again, Seferi has not fought at a high level, and not fought good opponents. If Fury wins, I definitely think Charr vs Fury should be next! You?

To be honest, now we can seriously talk about Fury, I wasn't interested in discussing his chances against Joshua and Wilder when he was 30 stone, famous for his sh** talking, but now, at least he is back in action, but 30 months is a long break, and I think Fury will age very quickly.

That makes sense to not put him into position to not get hit and tire the older fighter out.

It seemed like immediately in the second half of the fight he gassed out. That's when Jack took over. Jack being tired after those rounds played in Stevensons favor because it evened it out, they both were tired and able to come back. If Stevenson landed that shot that hurt Jack earler he could've got him out of there like you said, I feel that since Stevenson being gassed out made him only land one at a time to get him out of there. It was smart of Jack to fight cautious.

I think Jack will win. How do you think these two do against Kovalev?

I think it's good that Fury has a fight with a date and opponent, that's a good start. Seferi isn't the best option but I'm not really worried because it's his first fight back, there could've been worse options. I don't know who I want him to fight next after this fight, maybe Briggs or Charr.

I'm happy about him being back. I want to see how he does before I can judge him at a world level.

I thought Jack was doing great in the early rounds, he was so accurate, maybe he could have begun to put just a couple more punches together in round 3, but no, he was able to find the target, and while Stevenson thoroughly out threw him early, very, very little landed clean. I think had that been a 15 round fight, Jack would have won. To be honest, I wonder if Jack took a gamble that backfired in rounds 7-9, he put an awful lot into those rounds, and maybe had he been more economical, maybe he would have had more in the tank in rounds 10-12, if he'd been more methodical, maybe he could still have had Stevenson where he wanted him, but then again, if he'd done that, still not stopped Stevenson, would we all be saying what we said about Klitschko last year?, 'let him off the hook, should have stopped him when he had the chance.

Absolutely, he was tiring slightly after 2 or 3, but Stevenson has good recovery for a 40 hear old, obviously, still 40, and as we saw, never after 6 did he have the same spring and snap, he gassed, but in 10, it wasn't that he found a second win, Jack was tired, but credit to Stevenson, he did well to land that body shot, that is some offensive ability, made it look easy, but based on him hurting Jack like that, had that been a fresh Stevenson, in the first 4 or 6 rounds, I think he would have stopped Jack, Stevenson has serious natural power, Jack doesn't, so he needs to rely more on systematically breaking down opponents, gradually, with output, educated pressure, pace, as we know though, he does all this very well, and there is no lack of power, he just is not a devastating puncher.

To be honest, I think Kovalev might have an edge over both of them, Kovalev's ability with that 1,2, from range, he times it, he is very accurate, for 6 rounds, he is very dangerous, he's declining, but so are Stevenson and Jack, especially Stevenson. Jack would have a great shot against Kovalev, patient, methodical, and if Jack could get on the inside, work the body, could be the end of Kovalev, he can't take body shots, but I just think, early, that jab, if we look at how did against Andre Ward in both fights, for 6 rounds, he was able to bully him, and neither Jack or Stevenson are as good as Ward in my opinion. I'd lean towards Kovalev, he's the biggest puncher in the division I think, and he might still be top 3. You?

Briggs is ancient, and in no state to be boxing, but, the fight would sell. Charr is occupied with Oquendo, but I tnink that's ridiculous! 45, not fought sincd July 2014, who decided he should be fighting for a world title now?! The idea of Charr vs Fury makes much more sense, especially with Seferi being defeated by only Charr, previously.

For me it isn't that much of a test as it is just him getting his activity back, of course, we don't knoe how well he will do, when he will tire, how he will take it if he gets hit, what his timing will be like, footwork, etc, but I think this is too early a stage to be a good test of how good he is at world level. First thing's first, Fury should fight twice this year, and he needs at least 3 fights before fighting Joshua or Wilder.

I think Seferi is not as good an opponent as Rudenko, but better than Zumbano Love! That would have been an absolute waste of the very limited time Fury has left.

I was watching the fight from my phone, so the quality wasn't the best. saw most punches thrown and landed but some I could've missed. I thought that to if this were a 15 round fight Jack would've easily won.

His recovery is pretty good for someone his age. Jack tiring h=out definitely evened the playing field for Stevenson though. If Stevenson was maybe younger he might have been able to capitialize on his excellent body shot. Stevenson is one of the hardest punchers in the division and for Jack not having much power he has to do all the things like educated pressure and a systematic attack.

I think Kovalev beats both Jack and Stevenson. I think he has a better chance of beating Stevenson, because of his age and he's declining more then Jack. I think Kovalev is the biggest puncher to and I rate him anywhere from 1-3 in the division. I think he beats everyone except for maybe Bivol.

I think he hasn't been in the ring since 2016, I remember that because he fought around the time Haye returned and they were both calling each other out. But yeah, it's basically a money fight. I like Fury vs Charr.

It's good to see him get his activity back with someone, he doesn't need to challenge himself just yet, but not not someone who is very bad. I'm just saying I wanna see what he can do to make a prediction before he does a fight against Joshua or Wilder.

In my opinion, Kovalev does not beat Beterbiev, Browne, I think Yarde might even be as good now as if he isn't there is not much more time before he overtakes him, and most of all, Bivol, I think Kovalev would be a threat to Bivol because of his power, but I think past 6, Kovalev would come apart. I rate Kovalev lower than you do, I definitely do not think he is the best at 175.

On your predictions list it says Horn stops Crawford, is that an error?, or do you predict an upset?

Fair, understandable opinion, I just don't agree, I think Beterbiev beats Kovalev, and so does Browne, and Bivol, I think has it in the bag after 6 rounds, after which time, it is close, but after 6, it Kovalev would fall apart, probably get stopped, and as time is going by, Kovalev is getting worse, Bivol is improving, that's my opinion. If you think Kovalev vs Bivol is a 50/50 fight and Kovalev might win because of Kovalev's power, experience, ability to dominate with that jab, I see that.

I thought so. Shocking about Horn being in a 3 car collision, but thankfully, not injured, so the fight is still happening.

I still think Kovalev has what it takes to beat Browne and Beterbiev, but I'm not sure on Bivol hem might be the best at 175. Bivol is only getting better while Kovalev is declining, I can still see Kovalev giving him his toughest fight to date. It sucks about Beterbiev having a tough time getting big fights.

I don't know about you but I'm never, ever drink driving, once every 15 minutes, someone in your country is killed or seriously injured because of an alcohol related collision, at a guess, I would say that means in this country it happens every 75 minutes, I just think we should all try our absolute best to discourage kids from ever drink driving or going over 80mph, people want to drink fine, they just can't drive after.

Me neither, laziness, pathetic people who just don't care, it is the worst sort of manslaughter, they don't mean to kill anyone, but they know what level of danger they are putting people in. Also, people who drive when they are tired, ridiculously tired, it is so dangerous, in this country, it is illegal to drive for 5 hours without a break I believe, definitely for lorries, but definitely, people have to be ok to drive as well, in terms of not being too tired, as well as not being intoxicated.

McDonnell vs Inoue.
Gutted for Jamie getting blown out like that, but you know, what a professional, killing himself to make weight, fighting weight drained, to have any chance of keeping his title. What a statement from Inoue! McDonnell was weight drained almost certainly, but still, to be able to blast out a bigger guy with all that reach, in half a round, without even getting reckless at all, that was very impressive. Shiro looked solid as well, knocked out Lopez in 2, man, that body shot!, just a fundamental but really well executed right, down the middle, knocked the breath out of Lopez and destroyed him.

Inoue made a statement in that fight, what a great performance. I heard that Mcdonnell was weight drained which is unfortunate, Inoue still deserves credit. He moved up in weight and had a great performance. I think he is going to be in the World boxing super series in the bantamweight tournament which is great. I think he wins it, what about you? He's ready for top competition.

Wonder if we'll hear about the status on Usyk and Groves injury, I want to see those fights. I don't want Eubank Jr to be a replacement it will make the tournament seem not realistic.

Absolutely, he one exceptional offensive fighter! That's awesome, what a tournament! Well it's very easy to say that based on the McDonnell win, and he is more than capable of winning a tough, world level tournament even before he has hit his prime, but let's just look at the division, Burnett, absolutely phenomenal, world class performances against Haskins, Zhakiyanov, Parejo, Nery (shame he isn't in the tournament), absolute monster!, Emmanuel Rodriguez, what a performance against Paul Butler!, and finally, Tete! If I had to say, I'd want to say Tete, but, he is the only one of those 4 who is not unbeaten, he is the oldest as well, then again, his form is great, he is massive, very underrated, and 30 is getting younger and younger in boxing.

If I absolutely had to say, if I was pushed, I would say,
Zolani Tete
Naoya Inoue
Emmanuel Rodriguez
Ryan Burnett

And I wouldn't be surprised if Burnett won the tournament!, that is a rough ranking, but what is exciting, is that we as fans get to see all these great fighters, battle it out against each other, we will know who is the best when one wins the competition. Luis Nery must be kicking himself for taking drugs, missing weight, because imagine how frustrating to feel like uou are the best of the bunch, but get excluded, but, still, Nery is right in the mix!

What I do know, is that Callum Smith and Joe Gallagher are willing to wait a long time to fight Groves, Smith must be sick of this career stage of not being able to prove himself, he needs a career defining victory, and a win over Groves is a better achievement than a win over Eubank Jr, the tournament, no point in even having the tournament if the finalists don't fight, if that means delays, that's that, life it hard, injuries happen, what people can control is how they work around it. Nobody wants to see Smith vs Eubank Jr, we want to see Usyk vs Gassiev next, and in terms of the structure of tne competition, in terms of the whole point of the tournament, unless Usyk or Groves does a David Haye anx disappears for years, we can wait another few months for the sake of the tournament.

It's his first fight at the weight division so it's really hard to say, but I have confidence that Inoue will win. I think Tete and Burnett have a good chance of beating him. Nery might be in it because they still need spots I think and they'll offer it to him. I heard Rigondeaux was offered a spot at the tournament but his advising team is going against it because he has to cut weight to make the tournment.

I would say
Inoue
Tete
Burnett
Rodriguez

Same here, I've seen him in a lot of fights and he looks great. Hopefully Nery can still be in the mix for this because that would make for a good tournament.

I think that's how it should be, I don't like replacements in a tournament unless it's early in or there's a guarantee that the injured fighter gets a fight with the winner. That's right because there's no point in not seeing the actual finalists in there. I don't mind waiting a few months but anything over a year is too much.

Yeah I think so, but we can still form opinions based on the McDonnell win and his past success. I think Rodriguez as well, they are all great. I think if people consider Inoue a class above Tete, that might be getting carried away just a bit. Rigondeaux is done, he should retire, but if he doesn't, 118 is a bad idea, I think he'd lose to all 5 of the fighters we mention, not because he isn't of a high enough talent and caliber, but because he is over 37, he's coming off a bad loss, we know that as a professional, at the very top, his punch output is insufficient, and to cut all that weight, it isn't going to work at his age, plus, he doesn't take punches well, I've always said Tete could beat him.

It is already a great tournament, but that would make it even better. As much as I hate drug cheats, I do give Nery credit for taking responsibility for his mistakes, maybe he does deserve a second chance. I think Nery is an exceptional talent, he makes mistakes, he's been dropped twice, against Villenueva (might not be spelled right), it was just impatience, he didn't get hurt really, just got hit with a good counter right which made him touch down. What a division is 118! You can talk all day about why you have 5 very good world level fighters there, Tete, Inoue, Nery, Rodriguez, Burnett, they are all brilliant fighters!

I agree, but now, it is confirmed! Awesome! You excited? And also Porter vs Garcia confirmed! August 25!

He should retire, why go on? He's old, he's only getting worse, he is one of the best amateurs of all time I would say, great defensive fighter, but not the best offensive fighter, and not a fighter who really, really delivered as a professional.

Could be interesting, but it is not the main fight, that, we know, Horn vs Crawford, Santa Cruz vs Mares II, are. Wouldn't it be awesome if Seferi could pull it out?, spark this clown! I'm interested to see the fight, I don't think Fury is as quick as he thinks he is, I don't think his ability to move is what he thinks it is, let's see if we find out if I might be right, I think Fury had the talent to be the best heavyweight of all time, he's is 29 I guess, not old at all, especially for a heavyweight, he can be good, he can achieve, but think how much Joshua has improved over the past 2-3 years, think how much worse Fury has gotten it that time. I maintain that if Fury fights Joshua or Wilder, he will lose, badly, and I still think he'll be shot at 32, age very quickly, I hope I'm right, because Tyson Fury is a disgrace to the sport!

I think Rigondeaux should retire to. I agree with everything you said there. He was great defensively, but offensively not so much. I always questioned his chin. The only time I remember he delivered was beating Donaire but that's just one name. Other then that he never beat anyone of note.

As the fight approaches, I feel Horn will put up a tough fight against Crawford. I really thought about it the other day, the way to beat a boxer or a very good fighter is show no respect their skills and accomplishments. Look at Horn vs Pacquiao, he showed him no respect towards his skills and won anyway possible, and Maidana in the 2 Mayweather fights, he showed Mayweather no respect and gave him 2 tough fights. Can't wait for the Santa Cruz rematch. As for Fury, I want to see him comeback and win, I want to see what he's able to do in his comeback, we won't be able to see it until he comes back in competition. If he fights Wilder or Joshua, I will root for them over Fury.

Spot on, absolutely spot on. Boxing can be so much about desire, mentality, and Horn has the desire and belief that he can win, that will be important. I can't see it live, it is on Showtime of course, but it is not on British TV, I will try to see it somehow online, but if not, oh well, but it should be a great fight, good for you US fans that you get to see it live. Me too, it's just that in my opinion, it is very predictable, he should beat Seferi, and depending on Seferi's fitness, desire, and skill, more than anything to do with Fury, he should look good, but what does beating a 39 year old mini heavyweight who has never fought anybody apart from the guy who beat him, say about Fury?, but it will be interesting, it's a fight, it's a bit of a test, so it obviously isn't 100% predictable, well worth the watch for any boxing fan. I hate Fury, piece of lowlife scum, same for his eyeball pulling thug father. If Fury fights AJ, Wilder, I will be very confident he gets smashed to bits, gets the beating he deserves, and it will be good to watch, and it isn't technical fighter versus bigger puncher, because when you are out for 2 and a half years, aren't consistent, your timing, rhythm, degree of skill goes, Wilder is a versatile offensive fighter, more so than Fury, and Joshua is one of the best learners in the sport if you ask me, Fury is a deluded fat guy who likes to eat and sniff, Joshua and Wilder would destroy him, and leave fish eyes eating his words. Sorry for the rant, if you or anyone else likes Fury that's your opinion, I just enjoy the thought of him losing, because I think he's horrible.

Great that Whyte vs Parker is confirmed! Didn't see that coming, Parker is very easy to make a fight against, his team a very reasonable, easy to do business with, they don't make demands, they are easy going, Parker said he would fight Whyte, a good rival who has called him out, the only reason he didn't before was because he had other fights, but now, the fight is happening, and the winner should get a world title shot next no doubt in my opinion. It says a lot that for weeks, Whyte vs Ortiz was all but done, but there was this dispute, that dispute, and Ortiz and his team complaining all the time made it just pointless negotiating, same with Pulev and his team, not saying Whyte is blameless in either scenario, but with Parker, it is the opposite, fight is suggested, there teams discuss a fight, and very quickly, without any crap, the fight is a done deal, we have to respect Parker for that, and against AJ, he accepted less than 35%, not because he thought he wasn't entitled to more I don't think, but because he wanted that fight, and when it came to it, he broke AJs KO string, did very well, was just beaten by the bigger and better fighter, no shame in that. Whyte vs Parker should be a great fight, very interesting fight as well.

I think at 32, he'll be shot, I know he is a heavyweight, but he is as old as tall 29 year olds come. I think ethnic origin has a lot to do with it as well as size, I think black fighters tend to decline later. Another observation I have, is that Asian fighters tend ti be so good at putting on weight the right way, Inoue is only 25, he still hits very hard at 118, he was a word champion at 108, and look at Manny Pacquiao.